Council Licensing Guide · Scotland

How Much Does a Short-Term Let Licence Cost in Glasgow City Council?

Application fees in Glasgow City Council run £151–£480, plus the safety certificates every Scottish short-term let needs. Confirm current fees on the official council page.

Licence valid 3 years Mandatory since Oct 2023

Licence fees

Glasgow City Council Fees

Fee band Application Renewal
Home Letting or Home Sharing (or both) — max occupancy 4 or under £151 £90
Home Letting or Home Sharing (or both) — max occupancy 5 or more £331 £270
Secondary Letting — max occupancy 4 or under £301 £240
Secondary Letting — max occupancy 5 or more £480 £420

Variation application: £87 flat fee for all four licence types (grant, secondary letting, home letting, home sharing) regardless of occupancy band — see policy section 14.2 if the variation itself changes maximum occupancy. Fees are non-refundable and payable only by BACS transfer to Glasgow City Council's Licensing account (quoting the 16-digit ST reference); the application is not formally lodged until payment clears. These are the CURRENT figures confirmed from the council's live page (page states 'Last modified on 21 August 2025', captured in a Wayback Machine snapshot dated 18 Jan 2026 — the live site returned HTTP 403 to automated fetches during this check, including curl with a browser user-agent, so the archived copy was used). This supersedes the 2023/24 schedule (Secondary £250/£400, Home Letting/Sharing £125/£275, renewals £200/£350 and £75/£225, variation £75) that still surfaces in some third-party summaries and search snippets — do not use those older figures.

No separate planning permission needed

Glasgow has NOT designated any short-term let control area under s.26B of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 (confirmed via the council's own Planning-and-STL guidance page, wayback snapshot 23 Apr 2025 — no more recent snapshot found but no news of a designation since). This means the mandatory "planning permission in force/pending" licence condition is currently dormant for Glasgow (it only bites in a designated control area). However, planning permission can still separately be required outside a control area: the council's policy (SG10, City Development Plan) treats flats as a Sui Generis use, so letting an ENTIRE flat frequently as an STL is likely to need planning permission (fee ~£600 per 100 sqm, or half that for a Certificate of Lawfulness for Proposed Use), whereas letting a HOUSE to a single household generally does not need planning permission. A 10-year continuous-use exemption route (Certificate of Lawfulness for Existing Use) exists for long-running flats. This planning process is entirely separate from and additional to the STL licence.

Before you apply

Documents You'll Need

  • Floor/layout plan showing rooms (living areas, all bedrooms and which bedrooms are available to guests), room dimensions, and location of stairs — required for all new grant applications regardless of licence type
  • Floor plan NOT required for a renewal if there has been no change to the layout since the last licence
  • Floor plan IS required for a variation application if the variation involves a layout change
  • Written consent from the property owner(s) — only needed where the applicant is not the owner; if there is shared/multiple ownership, a signed consent declaration is needed from every owner
  • Statutory public site notice displayed at/near the premises for 21 consecutive days during determination, inviting objections/representations

Safety certificates

Certificates Required

Your Glasgow City Council licence application must be backed by current safety certificates. These are jobs for a certified assessor, and getting them booked early is the most common thing that holds an application up.

ReferralFree. We'll pass your details to a local certified assessor who covers your area.

Get your licence certificates sorted

A short-term let licence in Glasgow City Council needs a set of safety certificates. Tell us about your property and we'll connect you with a local certified assessor for a no-obligation quote.

Fire and carbon monoxide detection equipment records, and evidence upholstered furnishings/mattresses comply with the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988Annual Gas Safety Certificate/inspection report for any gas pipes, flues and appliances (where the premises has a gas supply)Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) from a competent person at least every 5 yearsPortable Appliance Testing (PAT) report and date-labelling for all moveable appliances accessible to guestsValid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) where one is required, quoted in any listing/advert alongside the licence numberLegionella risk assessmentValid buildings insurance for the duration of the licence and public liability insurance for the duration of each letCompliance with the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 repairing standard where applicableCertificate of compliance confirming emergency contact details given to neighbouring residents, due to the council within 14 days of the licence taking effect

No obligation. Your details go only to a local assessor covering Glasgow City Council.

Local conditions

Key Rules in Glasgow City Council

  • No STL control area is currently designated in Glasgow, unlike Edinburgh's citywide control area
  • Four licence types: Secondary Letting, Home Letting, Home Sharing, and Home Letting + Home Sharing combined — the applicant must pick one at application
  • Since 1 January 2025 all hosts must hold an STL licence (transitional 'grandfather' operating rights for pre-Oct-2023 applicants ended)
  • Statutory 21-day public site notice for every application, plus mandatory consultation with Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, the local Community Council and ward councillors
  • Fees are non-refundable and must be paid by BACS transfer — the application is not formally lodged until payment clears
  • Planning permission is a separate regime from the STL licence; flats let in their entirety are far more likely to need it than houses let to a single household
  • A property continuously operated as an STL for 10+ years or more may qualify for a Certificate of Lawfulness for Existing Use in the planning process
  • Licence numbers and (where applicable) EPC ratings must appear on every listing/advert for the property

Apply through Glasgow City Council

Applications are made directly to the council. This guide is a summary — always check the official page for the current fee and conditions.

Typical processing time: Glasgow's own licence page does not publish a specific target number of weeks. Under the national Order, the licensing authority has a statutory maximum of 9 months to determine a new STL application (higher for very high-volume periods) and a 21-consecutive-day statutory site-notice/objection period is built into that timeline, plus statutory consultation with Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue, the local Community Council and the ward's elected members. Treat "up to 9 months" as the honest worst case; the council does not commit to a faster typical turnaround in writing.

Official council licensing page

Common questions

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the fees for a Glasgow short-term let licence in 2026?
Grant of licence: Home Letting/Home Sharing (or both) is £151 for a maximum occupancy of 4 or under, £331 for 5 or more. Secondary Letting is £301 for 4 or under, £480 for 5 or more. Renewal is cheaper: £90/£270 for Home Letting/Sharing and £240/£420 for Secondary Letting. A variation application is a flat £87 for any licence type. These are the current fees shown on Glasgow City Council's licence page (last modified 21 August 2025); older figures of £125-£400 quoted elsewhere are from the superseded 2023/24 schedule.
Does Glasgow have a short-term let control area?
No. Unlike Edinburgh (which has a citywide control area), Glasgow has not designated any STL control area, so the licence condition requiring planning permission to be in force or pending only applies if that changes in future. Planning permission can still be needed separately from the licence, particularly for whole flats let frequently.
Do I need planning permission as well as a licence?
It depends on the property. Letting an entire flat frequently as an STL is likely to count as a material change of use requiring planning permission (roughly £600 per 100 sqm, or half that for a Certificate of Lawfulness for a Proposed Use). Letting a house to a single household generally does not require planning permission. A one-off let of 14 consecutive days or less is unlikely to trigger the planning requirement. This is assessed by Planning Services separately from the Licensing team.
How long does a Glasgow STL licence last, and how do I renew?
Licences can be granted for up to 3 years. A renewal application should be submitted before expiry, and a fresh floor plan is only needed if the layout has changed since the last licence was granted.
How do I pay the licence fee?
By BACS transfer only, to Glasgow City Council's Licensing account (sort code 83-44-00, account 00116224), quoting the 16-digit ST reference with hyphens removed. The application is not treated as formally lodged until payment is received, and fees are non-refundable even if the application is later refused.
What happens if my Short Term Let licence application is refused?
You have a right of appeal to the Sheriff Court within 28 days of the refusal decision. If you were operating before the licence was refused, you must stop operating as an STL within 28 days of the decision (the council cannot advise on the appeal itself).
What documents does the application need?
Every new grant application needs a floor/layout plan showing rooms, room sizes and stairs. If someone other than the owner is applying, signed consent from the owner (or all owners, if there's shared ownership) is also required. Gas safety, electrical (EICR/PAT), EPC, legionella and insurance evidence are mandatory ongoing licence conditions rather than upload requirements at application stage, per the council's published conditions.

Short-Term Let Licences in Other Councils

The Highland Council Licence cost & rules Argyll and Bute Council Licence cost & rules Perth and Kinross Council Licence cost & rules The City of Edinburgh Council Licence cost & rules Aberdeen City Council Licence cost & rules Dundee City Council Licence cost & rules

See all Scottish council STL licence guides →

Council data last reviewed 2026-07. Fees and conditions are set by Glasgow City Council and can change — always confirm on the official council page before applying. This page is general information, not legal advice.